NSIC roundup

October 15, 2013

Each week, The Minot Daily News features a roundup of notable performances, news and results from teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Here's what happened last week:

-- University of Mary senior quarterback Craig Bagnell became the school's all-time leading passer in the team's 26-17 win at Bemidji State. Bagnell was 21 of 30 for 311 yards and one touchdown. The Polson, Mont., native has 7,963 yards and 64 career touchdowns, nine behind Mary Hall of Famer Chris Schwab's school record. Schwab was the previous record-holder for yards at 7,786. Bagnell already had the career completion record and bumped that to 640. Favorite target Nick Jolliffe set his career-high with 137 receiving yards and caught Mary's lone passing TD in the game for his ninth of the season. Jolliffe is second in the NSIC in receiving TDs.

Former Turtle Lake-Mercer High School standout Grant Singer earned the Defensive Player of the Week honor with a 14-tackle day for Mary (4-2).

The junior outside linebacker also had 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss in the Marauders' win over Bemidji State (2-4). Singer leads the conference in tackles with 63. His fumble recovery against the Beavers was his third of the year, good for second in the conference. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder is third in tackles for loss (9) and fifth in sacks (3.5).

-- Sophomore quarterback Jake Hodge set the Minnesota State University-Moorhead single-game record with 472 passing yards in a 69-45 loss to No. 11 Minnesota Duluth (5-1). Hodge, the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week, was 31 of 45 with a career-high five touchdowns, including an 86-yard pass to Cory Ambrose. The Kasson, Minn., native also ran for 83 yards on 15 carries for the Dragons (1-5).

-- No. 2 Mankato (6-0) was tested by unranked Augustana in a 20-10 win. The Vikings (2-4) held the Mavericks to their lowest scoring output of the season. Augustana led 7-6 at the half, but Mankato went to the air in the second half and senior receiver Dennis Carter scored the insurance touchdown on a 53-yard pass with less than four minutes remaining. Carter finished with 111 yards. It was the Mavericks' 17th straight NSIC win and marked another strong defensive performance. The Vikings gained just 176 yards of total offense.

-- Upper Iowa junior running back Chris Smith rushed for 266 yards on 34 carries as the Peacocks (4-2) overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Concordia-St. Paul 28-24. It was UIU's first win over the Golden Bears (3-3) in eight tries and the fourth time Smith has surpassed 200 yards in his career. As a freshman, he rushed for 278 yards against Wayne State. The Brown Deer, Wis., native scored three touchdowns and had a 55-yard run to set up the winning touchdown, an 11-yard run by quarterback Cole Jaeschke.

-- Southwest Minnesota State junior quarterback Charlie Kern accounted for six touchdowns in the Mustangs' 55-16 rout of Wayne State. Kern was 26 of 31 for 289 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 28 yards and two touchdowns. Kern has 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions for the Mustangs (3-3). The Wildats (2-4) ran 86 offensive plays for 376 yards, but threw three interceptions.

--Minnesota Duluth senior outside hitter Kate Lange was named Offensive Player of the Week with an NSIC-high 52 kills in two matches as she moved up to second in school history with 1,759. It's her second time winning the award this season and she led the league with 6.56 points per game last week. The Bulldogs are 18-1 and 8-1.

Concordia-St. Paul senior Amanda Konetchy was named Setter of the Week for the fourth time this season following an average of 15 assists per game in the Golden Bear's two wins. Konetchy had 120 total and set an NSIC record with 77 assists in a 3-2 win over Wayne State on Friday. She leads the league with 13.21 assists per game. C-SP is 17-1 and 9-0.

Moorhead sophomore Amber Krenske was named Defensive Player of the Week with 43 digs through two matches. The libero had 25 digs in a sweep of Bemidji State and averaged a league-high 5.38 per set during the week. Moorhead is 11-6 and 4-5.

--Mankato freshman Jessica Bowe was named Offensive Player of the Week in soccer after scoring twice in a 3-2 overtime win against Augustana. Bowe scored in the 74th minute to give the Mavericks' a 2-1 lead and scored the game-winner in the 102nd minute. She has three goals this season. Mankato is 11-1 and 9-0.